Relates to disability benefits for certain individuals employed by the Nassau county police department, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3488
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   disability  benefits  for  certain  individuals employed by the Nassau
   county police department

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 63-j to read as follows:
   § 63-J. CERTAIN IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH; PRESUMPTION. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY
 PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW TO THE CONTRARY,
 ANY  CONDITION  OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE HEART,
 RESULTING IN THE DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A MEMBER WHO SERVES AS AN  AMBU-
 LANCE  MEDICAL  TECHNICIAN,  AMBULANCE  MEDICAL  COORDINATOR,  AMBULANCE
 MEDICAL TECHNICIAN/SUPERVISOR OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS AMBULANCE MEDICAL
 TECHNICIAN RELATED SERVICES, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE  MEDIC  COORDINA-
 TOR, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR, BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE
 SERVICES  - COUNTY, ASSISTANT BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE
 SERVICES - COUNTY, OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC OR POLICE EMER-
 GENCY AMBULANCE RELATED SERVICES AND IS EMPLOYED IN  THE  NASSAU  COUNTY
 POLICE  DEPARTMENT, PRESENTLY EMPLOYED AND WHO SHALL HAVE SUSTAINED SUCH
 DISABILITY WHILE SO EMPLOYED, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A  PHYSICAL  EXAM-
 INATION ON ENTRY INTO SERVICE AS A MEMBER COVERED BY THIS SECTION, WHICH
 EXAMINATION  FAILED TO DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF ANY DISEASE OR OTHER IMPAIR-
 MENT OF THE HEART, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN
 THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY CAN BE PROVED
 BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
 section 607-m to read as follows:
   § 607-M. CERTAIN IMPAIRMENT OF  HEALTH;  PRESUMPTION.  NOTWITHSTANDING
 ANY  PROVISION  OF  THIS  CHAPTER  OR  ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW TO THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01272-02-5
 S. 3488                             2
 
 CONTRARY, ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED  BY  DISEASES  OF
 THE  HEART,  RESULTING IN THE DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A MEMBER WHO SERVES
 AS AN AMBULANCE MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, AMBULANCE MEDICAL COORDINATOR, AMBU-
 LANCE  MEDICAL  TECHNICIAN/SUPERVISOR OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS AMBULANCE
 MEDICAL TECHNICIAN RELATED SERVICES, OR A  POLICE  MEDIC,  POLICE  MEDIC
 COORDINATOR,  POLICE  MEDIC SUPERVISOR, BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY
 AMBULANCE SERVICES - COUNTY, ASSISTANT BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE  EMERGENCY
 AMBULANCE  SERVICES  -  COUNTY, OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC OR
 POLICE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE RELATED  SERVICES  AND  IS  EMPLOYED  IN  THE
 NASSAU  COUNTY  POLICE DEPARTMENT, PRESENTLY EMPLOYED AND WHO SHALL HAVE
 SUSTAINED SUCH DISABILITY WHILE SO EMPLOYED, WHO SUCCESSFULLY  PASSED  A
 PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION  ON ENTRY INTO SERVICE AS A MEMBER COVERED BY THIS
 SECTION, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF ANY DISEASE OR
 OTHER IMPAIRMENT OF THE HEART, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS
 INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS  THE  CONTRARY
 CAN BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   §  3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
 shall be borne by Nassau county.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would allow certain members who are employed in the Nassau
 County police department who perform police medic  or  police  emergency
 ambulance  related services to receive a performance of duty (POD) disa-
 bility benefit if the member is impaired  due  to  a  condition  of  the
 heart,  which shall be presumed to have been incurred in the performance
 of their duties, unless the contrary be proven  by  competent  evidence.
 Such  presumption will benefit members with a POD provided under Section
 607-j of the Retirement and Social Security Law.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, it  would
 likely lead to an increased number of POD disability benefits for future
 retirees.
   We  anticipate that there will be an increase of approximately $30,000
 in the annual contributions of Nassau County for the fiscal year  ending
 March  31,  2026. In future years this cost will vary but is expected to
 average 0.2% of salary annually.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $51,400  which  will  be
 borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes that
 payment will be made on February 1, 2026.
   Further,  there would likely be some administrative costs to implement
 the provisions of this legislation.
   These estimated costs are based on 118 affected  members  employed  by
 Nassau  County,  with  annual  salary of approximately $16 million as of
 March 31, 2024.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.  The  Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
 S. 3488                             3
 
 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   This  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a  substitute  for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate,  dated  January  24,  2025,  and intended for use only
 during the 2025 Legislative Session, is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2025-10.  As
 Chief  Actuary  of  the  New  York State and Local Retirement System, I,
 Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this  analysis  complies  with
 applicable  Actuarial  Standards  of  Practice  as  well  as the Code of
 Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for  Actuaries  Issuing
 Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
 which I am a member.